A thoughtful mainstream fantasy.'-Publishers Weekly ' dark, bittersweet romance.'-Kirkus Reviews, Alys, falsely accused of witchcraft, her father dead from the strain of her trial, is condemned to be sacrificed to a dragon. as well as a gutsy heroine and a sexy dragon.'-Booklist 'Alys herself is a worthy heroine, with a capricious gift for irony. Chang, North Adams State College, MA, 'Wicked wit and charm. Still, libraries with an audience for entertaining, romantic fantasies may find this good book bait. The abrupt ending may leave readers puzzled as to the heroine's motivations. The story's tone wobbles, sometimes keeping a comic distance from tragic events.

While the writing is smooth and the story moves quickly, the girl's emotions are not convincingly portrayed. Is he cruel and deceitful, or worthy of her trust? Almost too late, she discovers that he has a fatal weakness, and she is willing to sacrifice her hopes of revenge, and even her own life, to save him. As they embark on an elaborate scheme to frame Atherton and discredit the neighbors, Alys struggles to fathom the dragon's character. Instead, he changes into an attractive young man who offers to help her take vengeance on her enemies. To her surprise, the creature does not devour her. No wonder she is ready to die when the dragon appears. Upon hearing her sentence, her ailing father drops dead.

A motherless tinsmith's daughter, she is falsely accused of witchcraft by her greedy neighbors, convicted by Inquisitor Atherton, and staked out as bait for a marauding dragon. A thoughtful mainstream fantasy.'-Publishers Weekly ' dark, bittersweet romance.'-Kirkus Reviews -, Grade 5-9- In one afternoon, Alys, 15, loses everything.

Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde